May 27, 2021

Dorothy Jones-Davis is the founding Executive Director of Nation of Makers, a nonprofit whose mission is to support America’s maker organizations through advocacy, resource sharing, and the building of community within the maker movement and beyond. In this role, she is deeply interested in creating connections between a diversity of makers, enabling them to use their collective skills to harness solutions for the world’s challenges – grand and small.

Dorothy received her B.A. in Psychobiology from Wellesley College, and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan. She has previously held roles at the National Science Foundation, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, and the University of California, San Francisco.

Dorothy’s interest and passion for making began when she was a child (see her Medium post on Why She Makes), tinkering with broken electronics with her dad.  In her spare time, she now enjoys carrying on the tradition of building and making, with her twelve-year-old daughter.

May 28, 2021

Amar Hanspal is the CEO of Bright Machines, where he leads a team focused on changing the resiliency, flexibility, and economics of manufacturing through smart automation. He is a senior business leader with 30+ years of experience driving business and technology transformation. Before joining Bright Machines, Amar was co-CEO and chief product officer at Autodesk, where he oversaw the company’s entire software portfolio, including its innovative manufacturing and construction applications. In addition to sitting on Bright Machine’s board, he sits on BeyondTrust and Aspen Technology boards and advises early-stage venture companies.